The place: Sharp Shooters Billiards
7200 SW 117th Ave., Miami
305-596-0588
sharpshootersbilliards.net
The hours: Daily 5 to 8 p.m.
The deals: Fifty percent off drinks and free pool with two happy-hour drink purchases.
The scene: While there are plenty of pool tables in bars around Miami, there are few legit pool halls. And at the top of that list is Sharp Shooters, located on the second floor of the unassuming mall at the southwest corner of Sunset Drive and SW 117th Avenue.
You don't have to shoot like Efren Reyes or Allison Fisher (the best male and female players in the world, respectively) to enjoy the Gold Crown tables and Simonis cloth that Sharp Shooters features. In fact, if you're looking to perfect your stroke or play against the best competition in Miami, you'd do well to take advantage of the numerous happy-hour specials at this Kendall spot.
Serious players will want to take advantage of five hours of pool for only $6 from noon to 5 p.m. For those who need some libations to get the best out of their games, the 5 to 8 p.m. happy hour features half-off cocktails and 12-ounce draft, bottle, and pitchers of beer and wine. That comes with free pool when you purchase two happy-hour drinks. From 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, you get free draft Bud when playing pool. Finally, Thursday is ladies' night, with 50 percent off cocktails and 12-ounce draft, bottle, and pitchers of beer and wine when the fairer sex steps up to shoot.
Conclusion: We love that you have to climb stairs to the second floor to get to Sharp Shooters (there is also handicap accessibility). It's sort of like your ascension into the world of pool. The best money players in South Florida congregate at this pool hall, and it routinely attracts top professionals from around the nation and the world when they are in town. There is a horde of longtime regulars who shoot pool, talk sports, and philosophize about life, but they hold no rancor against new faces and novice players. Do keep your Color of Money and Hustler quotes to yourself, however -- they'll just make you look like a poser!
